Sherman: ‘It’s all fun’ with Peterson (but not so much with Crabtree)

Those interested in the genuineness of Richard Sherman’s NFL feuds – assuming there are some of you – might be surprised by what the Seahawks cornerback said Monday about his Cardinals counterpart, Patrick Peterson.

Their latest back and forth came last week when Peterson signed a deal making him the league’s highest-paid cornerback and then noted it in a Tweet directed at Sherman, who responded by posting a picture of his Super Bowl ring.

Sherman, a guest on 710 ESPN Seattle’s “Brock and Salk” Monday, said the two have been friends since just before they entered the league as rookies in 2011.

“It’s all fun. It’s all fun,” Sherman said of their Twitter exchanges. “You’ve got to see who’s the most clever.”

He added: “Yeah, we’re friends. We’ve known each other I guess since the combine. We worked out together and he’s a great dude.”

The conversation went from a perceived feud to an actual one.

Michael Crabtree was the subject of Sherman’s verbal assault following the NFC title game, but would Sherman have been as fired up during his interview with FOX’s Erin Andrews had the 49ers receiver shook his hand hand during their postgame encounter? Probably not, Sherman said.

“The animosity would still be there but I probably wouldn’t have gone off on him like that,” Sherman said, “but he didn’t.”

Crabtree shoved Sherman’s helmet when the cornerback – after his tip led to the game-saving interception – ran over clapping and then extended his hand. Sherman was asked whether he would have shook Crabtree’s hand had the receiver made the catch for the game-winning touchdown then done the same thing. His response was decidedly awesome, borrowing a lyric from Bay-Area rapper E-40.

“Yeah, I would have slapped his hand,” Sherman said. “But in that universe, it doesn’t exist. If if was a fifth, we’d all be drunk.”